Muzz

Now when you say I should be able to go over 320 with automotive clear, do you mean in the sense of painting clear over 320-grit sanded paint, or any grit sanded over(higher than) 320 grit for automotive paint?

I ask this because I used 320, made the paint nice and super smooth. Then I sprayed my first coat of clear today and I see some fine sanding scratches under the clear. Will these get hidden as more coats of clear are sprayed, or should I not spray anymore clear and sand out those scratches with finer grits first?

Yep, higher grit rating than 320, eg 600 or 800 grit. This will decrease the sanding scratches you see in the colour coat.

It is spray paint....It has come out amazing until this....I've done two medium-wet coats of clear over it...it's disapeared a bit but maybe I should sand it down a bit, spray a light color coat over it, and then clear over that without sanding?

Yes again, no wucking furries, sand the clear, cover with colour, let dry (check paint instructions), don't sand, soon after spray on clear. Good luck with it.

That was funny, I like the bit about going home to have a shower and wash the shames off

Class.

Either natural or the black with white binding finishes appeal pretty much equally to me. The only thing I would consider is a contrasting pickguard with the black finish. Tortoiseshell or pearloid could give it even more wow factor. I love the Stratty headstock.

Thanks guys. I will be spraying automotive lacquer, both are from the same manufacturer. I will go ahead and scuff sand with 320. My next question, it doesn't matter if there is a very small amount of texture on the color coat right? I mean, it's not enough to make the clearcoat texture over it but does it need to be completely level for the clear, or can I do my coats of clear, level that down perfectly smooth and buff out?

If your colour coats have already been sprayed and set for a few days and you are using automotive clear you definitely do need to sand before spraying the clear on otherwise it will not stick properly. You only do not have to sand the colour coat if it has been recently applied. The clear should cover any sanding swirls but with automotive clear you can go over 320 grit prep no problems. Everyone is going to have different ideas here but 600 grit prep is common and some people like to go up to 800. Like you will hear many times on these pages practise the whole procedure on scrap pieces of wood until you are happy with the finish, then use the procedure on the guitar.

I managed to find some audio, it's a bit busy but you should be able to hear the D2 in there, the amp has a fairly mellow overdrive.

Sound Sample D2 Bridge

If you get a chance to post a sound clip from yours I'd like to hear it, cheers.

To get the 2000 grit go to a car spare parts shop, they will have it or get it in for you. This will get a significantly flatter micro surface for the cutting compound to gloss up.

You got a bargain, an Ibanez Destroyer is one of the best guitars you can get, just listen to Ed's You Really Got Me, although that was an earlier model than yours. I'll see if I can find a sound bite from my old Destroyer II to let you hear what it sounds like with the stock bridge pup swapped out for a DiMarzio Super Distortion. You should be able to get the action down really close on that arrow straight neck and the feel of a Destoyer slung low over your shoulder makes you feel on top of the world. Rock and Roll.

Just one more step to include, 2000 grit, then cut and polish, then you will be on the home stretch.

A Bosch with a dust extractor attachment hooked into a vacuum cleaner leaves absolutely no dust anywhere. Just these funny curly spirals of wood that drop directly onto the floor and can be cleaned up with a brush and pan.

Easy. Tell the lady that you will not charge her any money up front but you will build a guitar and there is no obligation, if she likes it when it is finished she has the first opportunity to purchase and tell her how much you will charge. If she likes the finished product, great, if not,

a) sell it

keep it

c) give it away

d) keep parts, give wood away, try again with new wood

or any other options referred to in PG,

but this way you should feel fair dinkum about the whole process and enjoy the build,

good luck with it.

Nice job on the cut out Michael, I like the shape.

On the Dean model there is a tune-o-matic bridge with a tailpiece, but on your plans I can only see one bridge part. What sort of bridge arrangement are you going to go with? String through one piece?

Hi Blackdog, absolutely beautiful work, you have obviously taken a lot of care at each step and it has paid off. Are you going to post some sound samples? Also, they are unusual machine head spindles, they are sitting up very perky, is there still enough of a string angle over the nut? Lastly, got to tell you the carve and the contrasting wood colours are making everyone

photobucket doesnt work on my computer

wher alse can i go.

tinypic.com

I agree, it has evolved out of the species.

I enjoyed this thread but at some point I was hoping to see bits getting carved off a blank. What ever happens to these abandoned babies?

That plasti-dip stuff looks neat, and I can imagine being a geek who insists on using it for any number of things. (no, not that...)

You mean I wasn't supposed to use it for that? Damn, is it hard to remove?

G’day Wez, It is a technical and therefore an intellectual challenge, and it has stimulated a lot of chat on this thread. Yeah, it would be fun to see someone do it.

Who knows, next stop a wooden Floyd Rose

Rock and roll.

Do wraparound bridges have any pros? they do have a con, you can't do vibrato on them. And, just curious, why would you want to make one out of wood?

I make my own pickups so they will be loaded with ZDG pups which are basically off set scatter wound 5000 on the north. 5500 on the south with AlNICO magnets. Gives an overdriven PAF sound.

Check out a sound sample

Going with a hybrid Kahler which is pretty standard for me since I’m a big Kahler fan.

Great sound from that pick up, just the right amount of squawk, what sort of guitar was that in to make the sound sample?

$26 is still a bargain for a neck and parts. What options are you considering?

Oh and JazzFusionGuy please don't read this post any further.

Does anyone know how to flash up a subliminal message that makes JazzFusionGuy want to carve a cool new body out of a beaut block of swamp ash?

Nail polish will only last about 6 days. For an ultimately superior solution use two pack, fill in the ding, sand down with 400 grit, ramp up to 2000 grit and buff out to a near perfect repair that will last forever.

I wonder if you could flatten the surface down enough to keep the look, but make it comfortable, something like a stucco finish. I think Ibanez has done something like that.

Hi Drummer Dude, OK you got us all good, I don't believe you exist and I am expunging you from the matrix. I think you are the imaginative figment of two 14 year olds boys who are sitting over the computer giggling their heads off. Your creators made a character that would goad the project guitar forum members into a pack mentality, lining up to have a shot at the fictitious character's guitar building efforts. They are probably rolling around on the floor at how exasperated everyone got trying to guide this invention of the imagination through the intricacies of filling the hole that he made in a bit of wood. We are Mo and your creators are Bart Simpson. Nonetheless, it was fun.

Great shape, lush finish, this scores 10/10.

Now that is going to influence the sound much more than hitting the body with the tone spoon

Great stuff.